Mercer welcomes Georgia-born poet Adrienne Su for free reading

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MACON – Mercer University’s Creative Writing Program and Department of English will welcome poet Adrienne Su, who will read from her new book of poems, Peach State, Sept. 13 at 6 p.m.

The event, which will take place in the Presidents Dining Room inside the University Center, is free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase, and a book signing will follow the reading.

Born and raised in Atlanta, Su now lives in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where she teaches at Dickinson College.

Peach State, named a 2022 Book All Georgians Should Read by the Georgia Center for the Book, is set in the Chinese-American community in Atlanta where Su grew up and uses food as a lens for examining culture, history and family. As a result, the book provides a portrait of Georgia unlike any other.

“Our students gain so much from meeting contemporary writers and hearing their words come to life off the page,” said Chelsea Rathburn, assistant professor of English and creative writing and Georgia poet laureate. “I’m delighted to be able to bring Adrienne Su to Mercer’s campus and to invite the larger Macon community to enjoy her wonderful poems.”

Su has authored four additional books of poetry – Living Quarters, Having None of It, Sanctuary and Middle Kingdom – and her work has been recognized through fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown and Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, as well as five appearances in The Best American Poetry.

For more information on the event, contact Rathburn at rathburn_ct@mercer.edu.

About the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Mercer University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences serves as the academic cornerstone of one of America’s oldest and most distinctive institutions of higher learning. The oldest and largest of Mercer’s 12 schools and colleges, it is a diverse and vibrant community, enrolling more than 1,900 students, dedicated to learning and service through the practice of intellectual curiosity, respectful dialogue and responsible citizenry. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers majors in more than 30 areas of study, including more than a dozen pre-professional academic tracks, with classes taught by an outstanding faculty of scholars. In 2015, Mercer was awarded a chapter of The Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation’s most prestigious academic honor society that recognizes exceptional achievement in the arts and sciences. For more information, visit liberalarts.mercer.edu.

Featured photo by Guy Freeman